The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1887-12-22

For those who have not earsEsils
considered the postal teiegranh 11e
ton, and who have been inclined to
favor such a project, we would respect
fully refer the following article from
the Cincinnati Commercial. These are
some pungent points well worthy Of
consideration:
Mr. Terrence Powderly is a very sick
man. he has had to carry heavy load
OF responsibility under the fretting
| worry Of excessive fault finding, and he
has done his work with an excess of
friction upon body and mind that has
at length used up his health. He made
the mistake the other day of uttering a
most extraYagant TRADE upon the
Western Union Telegraph Company.
singing out Mr.. Jay Gould for harsh
language, and demanding that the
government should establish q postal
telegraph. "Jay Gould rules abso-
iutely the destinies of the American
people, says Mr.. Powderly, land he
Is the practical owner of that part of
the United States which he wishes to
take
Mr.. POwderly is misinformed and
misleading. Mr.. Gould is the largest
owner Of Western Union stock and has
other profitable investments, but his
money does not make him ruler, abb
Solute or otherwise. Upon the whole
the Western Union Telegraph COM
pany does its work wonderfully well,
and is better example of good bust
ness for the people than the postal sys-
tenn in the British islands, gives better
service and reader redress. But that
aside; l wish to call the attention of
the knights OF Labor to the following
points:
First-But one million of the sixty
millions of people of the United States
use the telegraph.
Second-Only per cent of the tele-
grams sent relate to social, domestic
and personal affairs.
Third-Nearly 80 per cent of the tel
egraphing is between pool rooms relat-
ing to sports, and between the big and
little Wall streets of the country, and
the rest is the press.
There is no personal power in the
proprietorship of the wires, because
there cannot by any possibility be SUI
pervision or any form of restraint
upon the transmission of intelligence.
The Western Union Telegraph cOmpa-
ny does not control the news or the
newspapers. The whole theory based
upon the proposition that the tele-
graphic company is a news monopoly
Is absolutely false and witho ut founda
ClOn.
The New York and Western and 9TH
er associated presses are not subject to
the western Union company, or sub
ordinated by it in any shape whatever.
They are its largest individual OF cor
porate customers, and have too often
and too much been rather in antagon-
ism than cooperation with the tele-
graph company. The Western Union
telegraphers own the channels through
which the news passes, but have as lit
tie TO do with the control of the news
as they have with guiding the winds.
II the Knights of Labor want postal
teleQraphy, it must be for one of two
reasons-that is, either to reduce the
rates, TO put them down as in the case
OF the mails, to cost or below; or give
the government an enlarged admins
tration, and add to the standing army
or ofice-holders the whole force of tel
egraphers throughout the country.
The first proposition, reduced to
pecuniary prose, is that fifty-nine mil
lions Of the people of the United States
are to be taxed for the benefit of one
million, especially to cheaper the cir
culation of speculative and sporting
news. The workingmen would be ex-
pected to put their hands in their
pockets to pay the most important
item III running the machinery of Wall
street and other gambling.
The second proposition under this
head is that it would place the govern
ment IN the position of overlooking the
private correspondence of the people
who use the telegraph, and it would re-
1nforce the democratic party on the eve
of presidential election.